Warning: This article does contain images some readers might find disturbing. Investigators have been left puzzled after finding a man’s body in a stage of “complete mummification” just 16 days after he was last seen alive. The man was found alongside a railway line in Bulgaria on 3 September. Identity checks later found he was 34 when he died, with a history of alcoholism, and was last seen alive on 16 August. However, his insides had been reduced to “structureless masses”, and case workers have been unable to explain how the body reached such an advanced state of mummification so quickly. A report published in Cureus journal shows a full set of pictures of the corpse – linked at the foot of this article. Trigger warning, they’re pretty gruesome. It has got scientists fascinated though. The report’s authors reveal that the “skin surface showed coloration ranging from light to dark brown, and it was hard and leathery.” “The internal examination of the body showed that the internal organs in the cranial, thoracic, and abdominal cavities had decayed into dried, brownish-black masses,” they write. Researchers stressed that natural mummification “usually takes several weeks to 6-12 months”, and that such a fast transformation would only normally happen in extreme heat. The temperature in Sofia has ranged from 16 to 33 degrees Celsius in the time period, which scientists said is not hot enough. The authors speculated that passing trains could have created a windy environment that could have contributed to drying out the body and causing bodily fluids to evaporate. They said it almost certainly wasn’t the weather in Sofia that caused the bizarrely fast mummification process. As of yet, it remains a mystery. Here’s the journal article. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The secret to life on distant planets could lie beneath the ocean floor, according to staggering research. A rich tapestry of microbes uncovered from rocks hundreds of feet down among the ocean crust proved an illuminating discovery for authors of a study first published in 2020. The single-cell organisms that live off methane in the South Pacific were far more plentiful in number than expected after being uncovered during an expedition in 2010. It came when the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) collected samples from 400 feet below the ocean crust. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The sheer number of microbes they found in the rock samples surprised them, with the rocks containing an enormous 10 billion bacterial cells – a huge increase compared to normal levels on the seafloor, which normally only measure around 100 bacterial cells per cubic centimeter. "I thought it was a dream, seeing such rich microbial life in rocks," Yohey Suzuki from the University of Tokyo said. The signs are certainly encouraging when it comes to searching for life on Mars and other planets in the solar system, especially as the findings of the study suggested that the microbes were there organically and not influenced by underwater volcanoes. "Minerals are like a fingerprint for what conditions were present when the clay formed. Neutral to slightly alkaline levels, low temperature, moderate salinity, iron-rich environment, basalt rock—all of these conditions are shared between the deep ocean and the surface of Mars," Suzuki said. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Vattenfall AB will stop the development of an offshore wind project in the UK after costs surged, posing

Whether it’s bread or onions, food has the power to make or break a country’s leadership. How nations

TL;DR: Stay powered up more conveniently with the 5-in-1 MagSafe Wireless and Wired Charging Station,

James Baldwin's novel 'Giovanni’s Room' was rejected by editors and publishers before it was eventually released in 1956.

Controversial sibling influencers the Island Boys say their mother “doesn’t care” that they kiss each other on OnlyFans. The identical twin brothers caught the attention of internet users last month after a disturbing clip emerged showing them kissing each other. Brothers Kodiyakredd (Franky Venegas) and Flyysoulja (Alex Venegas) shared the clip to promote their newly created OnlyFans account but were instantly hit with backlash from disturbed viewers. In response to the criticism, the pair claimed it was not “that big of a deal” and “really not disgusting” because they’re twins. Now, Flyysouljah has also commented on fans concerns about what their mother thinks, claiming that she “doesn’t care”. In a TikTok clip, he said: “My mom doesn’t care. My mom is proud of me, that I’m successful. I get to take very good care of her. I’m about to give her $10,000 to go invest in her own business.” @flyysouljah Replying to @Mrcalifornia7 #flyysoulja #fyp #islandboys #kodiyakredd He added: “So, she’s proud of me. I bought her an apartment, a car. She doesn’t really care what I do in my personal life, to be honest with you.” The video has been viewed almost one million times, but some fans weren’t buying that their mother did not care at all and questioned his dignity. One TikToker commented: “His mum definitely doesn’t know cuz if she does that’s WILD.” Someone else argued: “Bro your dignity shouldn't have a price tag. There's more to life than money.” Another said: “I would rather my mother cared.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

YouTube has decided to temporarily prevent comedian Russell Brand from making money from his videos following multiple allegations of rape and sexual assault against him.

ANSAN, South Korea--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 24, 2023--

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 11, 2023--

November's a good month for gamers.

Do you feel wronged by A&W? You might be entitled to compensation.